Roscosmos chief offers Erdogan to send Turkish astronaut to ISS

The Turkish leader has agreed to the offer

ZHUKOVSKY /Moscow Region/, August 27. /TASS/. Head of the Roscosmos State Space Corporation Dmitry Rogozin has offered Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to send a Turkish astronaut to the International Space Station (ISS). The offer was made during the joint visit of Russian President Vladimir Putin and Erdogan to the 2019 MAKS Air Show.

"We have a joint offer for you - to send a Turkish astronaut to the orbit to celebrate the republic’s anniversary. The Cosmonaut Training Center is ready to work on this," Rogozin said.

Erdogan has agreed to the offer. "We will joint your sacred job, let’s put it like this. Once again, I would like to thank you on behalf on the whole nation. Thank you for the work you have done."

In May 2018, Turkey announced its plans to launch a national astronaut training program starting 2023. Ankara aims to spend about $6 bln on the implementation of the project. The legal framework for the project was established back in the fall of 2016.

The 100th anniversary of the Republic of Turkey will be celebrated on October 29, 2023.